Poll Says Majority Favors U.S. Immigration Freeze

A majority of Americans thinks the nation is allowing too many immigrants to enter the country and favors a freeze on new arrivals until immigration policies can be revised, according to a poll released Tuesday by a group that advocates stricter controls.

The survey, conducted for Federation for American Immigration Reform, indicates that Californians harbor more negative attitudes about immigration than the country as a whole. Of Californians surveyed, 78% agreed that immigration has become a financial burden and nearly 70% said the state already has too many people.

FAIR, which has long advocated tighter restrictions on immigration, for the first time called for a temporary moratorium. “Our schools, housing, employment, living standards and deteriorating infrastructure demand a short pause,” said executive director Dan Stein.

The poll, conducted in March and April by the Roper Organization, shows that even before last month’s riots in Los Angeles, public anxiety was growing about the record influx of immigrants into the country.

Critics of FAIR, including the AFL-CIO, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Jewish Committee and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the organization relies on “code words, innuendo and distortions” to blame “virtually every social and economic problem” on immigrants.

“We must unequivocally denounce any attempt to scapegoat any ethnic or racial group for the unrest in Los Angeles and other cities,” said a written statement circulated after the FAIR press conference by representatives of the Jewish Committee and MALDEF.

The Roper poll shows that 86% of Americans regard immigration as a very important or moderately important national issue; only 4% said it was “not at all” important.

Sixty percent of those polled said they were more concerned about immigration today than they were 10 years ago. The level of concern was higher among state residents and the elderly: 72% for Californians and 69% among people 60 years and older.

The report notes that a separate Gallup Poll conducted in February showed that 61% of Americans believe that immigrant diversity makes a positive contribution to the country.

But the Roper survey shows that 54% of Americans--up from 48% two years ago--think too many immigrants are allowed into the country. Again, Californians, at 63%, expressed more concern than the overall sample.

Stein, the FAIR executive director, framed his arguments for immigration reform in terms of population growth, and at one point broke out a metronome to demonstrate the rapid rate at which the world’s population is expanding.

Against a background of insistent electronic beeps, Stein said: “The United States is sending signals around the world that we will accept migration” from less developed nations. But most of these people, Stein said, “should bloom where planted.”